Hello fellow LJs,A few months back I purchased the Ridgid R4512 and love the saw. Initially the lever you lift up and down was easy to move around but now I have to either hit it down with a mallet or use pliers to move it up/down. I don’t want to be hitting it with anything considering how close it is to my blade so I tried to clean it off as well as I could and put some wd40 on it. That didn’t seem to help much if at all. Have other owners of this saw had issues with this as well? What can I do to make it easier to move in and out of position when changing blades?

13 replies so far

On my R4510, I had to remove the riving knife mount (two large allen screws to the right of the knife) – then I could see and adjust the clamp tightness, then rte-align the knife with the blade. I think I decided later that I could tip the saw up on end, and access the adjustment from under the saw (the 4510 is on a cart).

Thanks guys, I suppose knowing I’m not the only one with the issue makes me feel a bit better. I suppose I’m going to just keep using pliers to grab it and pull up/down on it. I can always hit the pliers with the mallet I suppose. Peter, I’m not sure I feel comfortable taking the whole assembly apart.

i have the 4512.i think your talking about the orange lever to loosen the riving knife if i read this correctly.mine has become harder to move but i can still loosen it with my hands but now i prefer a small piece of wood.i just wedge it under the lever and lift,and then to tighten i tap it down with a rubber mallet because i don’t want to rack my knuckles.i also use my air compressor frequently to clean out the inside.remember the 4512 has a warranty and i wouldn’t hesitate to call the Rigid people.wish i could help more.

@Jeff: that’s exactly what I’m talking about. I also use my compressor to clean it out quite often. I don’t tighten the back six bolts down so I can easily open them and clean out the insides about bi-weekly. You’re right, I should just call Ridgid and ask them about it, good call.

I have a solution for everyone—it’s really easy, or at least it is for the r4510. The riving knife lever pivots on a bolt that passes through the full mechanism with a nylon locknut on the other end. All you need to do is loosen that nut a little bit so the lever clamps the knife firmly but isn’t impossible to lock down. To get to it, lower the blade completely and (for the r4510) put the saw in the stand’s upright mode. Remove the plastic shroud that covers the blade and channels the sawdust to the exhaust port (this is so you can access the lever to fine-tune the nut). You’ll see the lever on the top side of the blade housing and the bolt going through it passing downward. Look underneath the blade housing and you’ll see the locknut on the other side. Adjust the nut as needed. The locknut isn’t the tightest fit, and I was able to tighten/loosen it by hand with a 12mm socket—which makes it easy to adjust, but probably also explains why it so readily goes out of whack, and it’ll probably always require occasional adjustment.

I had this exact same problem and actually broke the the bolt trying to loosen it. I was able to add lock nut and bolt I had in the shop to repair it but it works great now. It is night an day difference. I was actually finding myself not using the riving knife or blade guard as often because it was such a pain in the butt to loosen the fitting. Definitely worth the tinkering time.

To get the orange locking lever up and out of the way, use a pry bar (or long screwdriver). Use the arbor nut as the fulcrum, and place the tip of the pry bar under the orange locking lever and pry it up. Once you get it started, you can move it the rest of the way with your hand. You don’t have to loosen or remove any screws, or turn the saw on end. Super easy to change the blade on the Ridgid R4510.

You don’t need a block of wood or a screwdriver to move the riving knife holder. All you need to do is what evotron says: Easiest way is to take off the back cover of the saw. You will see a locknut on a shaft that connects to the riving knife locking lever. The locknut is VERY SENSITIVE and a small movement to loosen will really loosen up the lever. In the same way, slightly too tight will make it almost impossible to move the lever. By putting the wrench on the nut, (think it is 1/2”), you can slightly move the locknut one way or another while loosening and tightening the knive lever. Nicely snug is where I have mine, but it is not unheard of for it to tighten up as slight layers of dust inbetween the layers of knife, block and lever can make it seem like the bolt must have moved. It is that sensitive.